How DQS Academy Creates Impactful Courses for a Variety of Learners

Megan was attracted to DQS Academy due to the “dedication to continuous improvement.” With her Masters in Education (M.Ed.) with a focus in instructional design and online learning, she saw the opportunity to use her experience to aid DQS Academy in their goals within continuous improvement. Megan also has experience with learners from different backgrounds, ages, and learning styles, which aids in her in the design and programming of courses from DQS Academy. She ensures that they are “using language that everyone can understand” as “sometimes even just the English that we use to describe a concept can be different.” Using clear language is important so “that [we] present [our courses] in a really digestible way.”

And when a course is being developed, Megan’s “main driver is user experience.” She continues to describe her methods:

“The way I design courses always thinks about the motivations and needs of the students or clients and what their obstacles are in achieving a goal, and that could be something as simple as, ‘Hey, they don't have the time to come into class’. Or that could be, ‘Hey, I've never worked with the standard before.’ So, looking at what their constraints are taking that all into play and then designing the learning objectives of every course to meet the goals of these learners.”

With the focus on ensuring the learners understand the content and can be usable, the assessments must also support these learning objectives. Megan states that the intent is not having learners “focusing on how to get through the course” but how to be able to shift the exercises to “help out clients in the real world.” Whether the exercises are “sorting [flashcards]” or “matching exercises,” the task will drive the overall learning objectives.

At the beginning of a course design, a Subject Matter Expert (SME), or Experts, provides all relevant information for the course topic and details items that may need additional clarification in this process. The SME provides the basic structure of the course, with the design completing the overall build. From here, it moves into the next step to take the SME technical knowledge and form it into an educational course with a content developer. Megan is certified for IDOL, Instructional Design and Online Learning, which DQS Academy leverages to their benefit. Megan “[makes] sure that the knowledge checks make sense” and really follow the original intent of the SMEs. Allison Ramos, the DQS Academy Coordinator (click here to read our interview with Allison), also assists in making sure “it all flows well from a customer experience” as she interacts with courses and customers daily. From there, it goes to the Program Manager for a final check and then posted online for potential learners to register for upcoming dates for public training or reach out to Sales (sales.us@dqs.de) to request private training.

So, what are some of the things Megan focuses on and works with when it comes to course design? Megan applies “learning theories that apply to adults” when looking at the design of the courses. An example she uses is “keeping the amount of text limited to what’s essential and then using images for graphics that are going to really support the message.” Megan also states that interactive components such as “knowledge checks”, “mock audits”, and “discussion points” help ground the information provided in the training with reinforcement activities. A big takeaway of DQS Academy courses is the real-world applications. After taking a course with DQS Academy, learners should feel confident to take the content and use it in their life, whether it is at work or in personal applications (such as in the ISO 14001 Internal Audit training, as explained in the blog here). Megan, and the entire DQS Academy team, are committed to making sure that all courses are consistent and are in the process of creating guidelines for those who will help deliver courses in the future. She states:

“We’re developing training for anybody who comes on board either as an instructor or as a subject matter expert or as an instructional designer or content developer, because we want to make sure that what we deliver is consistent and that our clients know what to expect and that it's of high quality that's really important to us.”

And when it comes to that standard of quality it does not end with posting the course online and having learners complete them, but it goes back to what Megan stated earlier in this post, it is about “continuous improvement.”

Feedback that is given through the post-course surveys and input about future training courses (take our new course feedback survey) is used regularly when it comes to the continuous improvement of courses. Megan states that this is an open door policy that can benefit learners moving forward and shows that DQS Academy “is really focused on the customer experience from start to end.” So, if there’s new ways to make courses more interactive, or a learning tool that can make the information in the course easier to digest, the DQS Academy team takes the time to assess how it can be absorbed into the current course.

When asked at the end of the interview, what she would like to include in this post, Megan stated the following:

“…we want our clients to feel like we're their partners in this and that they're not alone, that they have a resource to turn to, and that our goal is for our training materials to be engaging, but also just an access to relieve stress for busy managers or people who [are looking to complete] their certifications.”

And it’s true – not only within DQS Academy, but within DQS as a whole, our clients are our partners. DQS is available to answer questions and give insight into the world of certifications and standards. Whether it’s ISO 9001, ISO 27001 (now offering the ISO 27001:2022 revision!), or MDSAP, we are here for every step in the process. DQS Academy offers training courses to aid in preparing stakeholders, whether it’s an Internal Audit course or an Update course (such as the ISO 27001:2022 Upgrade Course) which can be facilitated as either public or private training.

For Megan, and DQS Academy, providing training that is engaging and applicable is of the utmost importance. Whether that’s gaining feedback throughout the design process or going back and revising training based on customer feedback, DQS Academy is dedicated to continuous improvement and wants you to join in on that mission as well. If you are interested in seeing and interacting with the courses Megan OConnor has designed, we invite you to visit the DQS Academy website and see all offerings. Want to learn more about the DQS Academy team? Read our blogs about Allison Ramos and how she moderates courses or Elizabeth Gatewood, who manages the team. Looking to speak with someone about getting private training scheduled? Reach out to Sales at sales.us@dqs.de or use the link below.